Do you have an emergency weather plan?

As a fellow sitter down the Gulf Coast (Houston, actually), I have a couple of emergency weather plans that I discuss with my clients.

Flooding (this happens in Houston often) - If the Metro lines and City of Houston services are stopped for flooding, my services stop as well. For walks and drop-in visits, I will do my absolute best to ensure that all dogs receive timely care. Ultimately, though, if I can't travel safely, I won't travel. Any visits that I am unable to complete due to weather will be refunded. But I always tells clients it's a good idea during our rainy season to have a neighbor that could easily pop-in, should the city flood.

Hurricanes - Luckily, I have never had to use our hurricane safety plan. We will follow all recommended safety procedures, including evacuation (if necessary). I always get one emergency contact number from someone that will be reachable while my client is away (usually a neighbor, spouse, or parent). If possible and should the client prefer, I will make attempts to leave the client's pet with their designated emergency contact within 24 hours. If I am unable to reach the client or an emergency contact, ALL clients will be evacuated with me.

I keep a "kennel card" for each client in a folder that relevant information should I be unable to access Rover through Wifi or wireless service. Each card has: food type/amount, health conditions, regular vet, emergency contact, and the client's contact information. Basically any information that I would NEED if I were to have to suddenly evacuate the pet with me.

Great question! I do mostly drop ins and walks....and I live in WI so I don't have to worry about hurricanes! I do have my personal inclement weather policy (really only for winter). If schools/businesses are closed due to weather (usually winter storm or blizzard), I don't leave my home for any reason. I'm upfront about that at all my meet & greets, and haven't had bad weather get in my way yet. My mom grew up on a farm, so my whole family pays close attention to weather forecasts, and I will change times for a walk to avoid a thunderstorm if need be. I have walked in rain/snow/sleet though....which isn't much fun.

This is an excellent question. Here in North Texas we don't have the extreme weather that you on the coast do, but we do have tornado season. And there have been way too many news stories about missing pets after recent severe storms. I will add this to my list of interview questions for boarding clients. I already ask for a local emergency contact number as well as the client number while they are away. I might ask about what to do in case of extreme weather.